Book alert: Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz and Doris Kearns Goodwin

I just got a glimpse of Annie Leiborvitz' new book, Pilgrimage and it is amazing! For those who don't know, Pilgrimage is a journey through the places that mean the most to Leibovitz. One of those places is Concord where she toured Orchard House, Emerson's home (Bush) and Walden Pond. The pictures from Orchard House …

A clear introduction to Transcendentalism . . .

. . . and in only about 500 words! This is from the Spiritual Travels blog: The Hippies of Nineteenth-Century America Posted on August 19, 2011 by lori Spending time with Bronson Alcott yesterday made me realize that before moving forward we need to get a bit clearer on what that ten-dollar word “Transcendentalism” means. Spoiler alert: abstract …

Tapping into my inner Thoreau; play-acting as Sylvia Yule

It's vacation time again with more opportunities to visit Concord. The more times I visit, the more I want to see. A trip down the Sudbury River to Great Meadows I enjoy kayaking very much and so took a trip down the Sudbury River, launching from the bridge off of Lowell Road, just off of …

Coming to Concord this summer? Here’s some recommendations

I just created a page with personal recommendations of places to visit and things to do while visiting Concord, Massachusetts. The one thing I could not recommend is hotels because I live too close to Concord to have stayed overnight. Here's some recommendations for those of you who want to indulge in living history (to …

Listen to Susan Cheever talk about her biography on Louisa May Alcott and other Concord Writers

Here's a podcast where you can listen to Susan Cheever talk about her latest book, Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography, plus another podcast on her fascinating study on the Concord authors. American Bloomsbury. Read about and listen to the podcasts here. What did I think about her books? Read my review of Louisa May …

Want to book a vacation in Concord touring its literary treasures?

Here's a brand new start-up company founded by two enterprising women who offer in-depth tours of the literary treasures of Concord, MA.  Gatepost Tours began last February and is taking off like a rocket. Friends Joan Spinazola and Alida Bailey are the co-owners. Sounds like a great way to spend a summer vacation! Check out …

An interview with Amy Belding Brown, author of Mr. Emerson’s Wife

1. What inspired you to write a fictional account of Lidian and Waldo Emerson? It took me a long time to decide to write a nocel about Lidian and Waldo.  At first, I just had a lot of questions about Lidian, especially about why she was relatively absent from so many biographies of her husband, …

Meeting Amy Belding Brown, author of “Mr. Emerson’s Wife”

I had the privilege yesterday of meeting author Amy Belding Brown who as you know, wrote the historical novel, Mr. Emerson’s Wife , based upon the lives of Waldo and Lidian Emerson and their relationships with Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and other famous Transcendentalists. Sharing lattes together at a local cafe/country store, Amy and …

Final Thoughts on “Mr. Emerson’s Wife”

Reading the last few words, I slowly closed Mr. Emerson’s Wife and felt a welling up inside of emotion. I was so tied to the character of Lidian Jackson Emerson that I felt they were her emotions too. This is how Amy Belding Brown's book hit me. I lived inside of Mr. Emerson's Wife for …

Highlights from “Mr. Emerson’s Wife”

Mr. Emerson’s Wife by Amy Belding Brown has really caught my imagination. I find myself living it in my head when I'm not reading it and I don't recall a book having done that to me before. What's really funny is that there are several things going on in my life that relate in some …